Barcelona is one of those cities that will blow you away such is the passion and energy brimming through the air here.

Being Irish, one memory I have is how proud the locals were of their culture. I remember asking one of the local taxi drivers what it meant to be Catalan and he spoke with incredible enthusiasm and passion for what it meant to be from Barcelona.

So the first advice I would give anyone is to be very respectful of the immense pride the locals have in where they are from.

This is Catalan country, so don’t make the mistake of thinking Barcelona is just another part of Spain. Geographically and constitutionally speaking it is (at least for now), but culturally it has its own fiercely independent identity.

This example goes to the heart of why we started CultureMee, our free app which helps you embrace culture when travelling abroad.

So what is CultureMee?

High level, we help you unlock the local culture, including basic do’s and don’ts, dining etiquette and business culture (useful when negotiating in the local markets!).

We also provide lots of handy travel advice for typical traveller frustrations such as visas, vaccinations and plugs.

We recently launched a video platform, which will put you in the driving seat to give your own perspective on culture.

For anyone still hungry for more, we’ve got plenty of fun facts you keep you entertained. Did you know that bullfighting, a popular sport in Madrid, is banned in Barcelona?

Join us on our journey to help bring culture to the world, one traveller at a time.